At 54 years and 61 days old on Sunday, Martin becomes the oldest driver in NASCAR history to start a Sprint Cup race from the pole when he leads the field to green in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

Martin’s next attempt at a record will be one held by Harry Gant, who won his last Sprint Cup race at 52 years and 219 days old at Michigan International Speedway in 1992.

And, yes, Mark Martin was in that race too.

But his pole record and his run at Gant’s record on Sunday did not, and will not, get the kind of attention that Danica Patrick received last week at Daytona for her pole win.

Martin, as always however, was modest in his assessment of his achievement.

“Whether I was to break that record or not, I look at Harry Gant and don’t feel I measure up,” he said. “That’s just me.

“Records don’t mean much. I have the respect — I was there with (Gant) and had the pleasure of racing with him and got beat by him on a regular occasion.

“We’ll always look at him as someone who accomplished more than I did.”

Well, the stats beg to differ.

Gant had 18 wins and 17 poles in his Cup career while Martin has 40 wins and 56 poles — so far.

TOP 10 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1: There will be more bumping and banging in first ten laps at Phoenix International Raceway than in all 200 laps at last week’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

2: The Sprint Cup drivers will be diving to the bottom of the one-mile PIR oval coming out of Turn 2 in hopes of making a pass in the back stretch.

3: Drivers will discover brakes are a very important part of their race car for the first time since hardly any of them used those last week at Daytona.

4: Keep an eye on the Toyotas out of the Joe Gibbs Racing garage. Two engine failures at Daytona will have Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin very nervous.

5: The new Generation 6 car will get its biggest test at PIR and guessing is that there will be a lot more side by side racing than we saw with the old model.

6: The top drivers — Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, etc. — will be the beneficiaries of the new car as experience is king at PIR.

7: Tire wear could be an issue on Sunday with temperatures in the mid-30C forecast. Remember last fall tire failure was a factor.

8: If the sun is out late in the race, drivers will face near-blinding glare coming out of Turn 2 which will make passing dangerous.

9: Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski will want to get to the front early from his 11th place starting position in the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford.

10: The big wrecks at PIR will happen and the most likely place will be as the cars come out of Turn 4 and head for the start finish line.

MY PICK

Queue the theme from Jaws.

The worst news for 42 other NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers came at the end of the 55th running of the Daytona 500 and it was that the No. 48 Chevrolet for Jimmie Johnson was about to win the Great American Race.

The last time that happened — in 2006 — Johnson went on to win the championship for the first of five consecutive times.

The 2006 season also saw the introduction of a new race car — the so-called Car of Tomorrow — and this year NASCAR introduced its Generation 6 car.

Going into the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, then, means Johnson is my pick to win at the one-mile banked oval in Phoenix.

Old-timer Mark Martin won't slow down

At 54 years and 61 days old on Sunday, Martin becomes the oldest driver in NASCAR history to start a Sprint Cup race from the pole when he leads the field to green in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

Martin’s next attempt at a record will be one held by Harry Gant, who won his last Sprint Cup race at 52 years and 219 days old at Michigan International Speedway in 1992.

And, yes, Mark Martin was in that race too.

But his pole record and his run at Gant’s record on Sunday did not, and will not, get the kind of attention that Danica Patrick received last week at Daytona for her pole win.

Martin, as always however, was modest in his assessment of his achievement.

“Whether I was to break that record or not, I look at Harry Gant and don’t feel I measure up,” he said. “That’s just me.